Curtsying for the Queen
by daysandweeks
Summary: Felicity's POV of pages 290 and 291 of TSFT. Felicity wants to stay with Pippa forever. FeePip


_**I'm rereading TSFT and thought that this scene needed to be, well, seen. If someone has already posted a fic similar to this, please point me in the right direction! Either way, be lovely and read & review!**_

_**Anything taken from Libba's writing is from pages 290 to 291 of "The Sweet Far Thing." All characters belong and elements taken from those pages belong to her. This is from Felicity's point of view.**_

Curtsying for the Queen

Pippa pulls me into the grand maze, intertwining her dainty white fingers with my own. My skin hums with her touch, and I gasp, surprised. It seems that I forgot just how perfectly our hands go together.

Rather quickly, I am out of breath. I shake Pippa's arm gently to get her attention. "Slow…down, Pip," I manage to say between gasps for air. She obliges, and we fall to a slightly slower speed—more of a trot than a gallop.

"I've missed you," Pippa says, now slowing to a walk. Our hands fall and we adopt a comfortable embrace. My arm wraps around Pippa's perfect waist as she snakes her arm around my own.

I let out a soft, content sigh. "I've missed you too, Pip." We acknowledge this every time we meet in the realms. The statement still rings as true as the first time it was uttered. Even though we cannot be together as often as we used to be, Pippa and I are still the best of friends. A day without her feels like a year without sunshine.

We come to a completely stop at a dead end. I run my hand along the maze's lush wall to pluck a tiny black flower from it. I'm about to secure it behind Pippa's ear, if only to enjoy the slight contrast it makes against her even darker hair, when she does the most unexpected, welcome thing. She leans in and kisses me.

The flower falls to the floor as I deepen the kiss by tilting Pippa's head back. My tongue explores Pippa's mouth as it hasn't for quite some time. I find my lips trailing kisses along her neck and just barely exposed breasts. The thought of her in her torn, stained gown no longer dampens my spirits. I am too overwhelmed by the taste of her skin and the fullness of her lips. She is foreign yet familiar, exotic yet…well, she is Pippa, to put it plainly. She has always tasted and felt this way and I wouldn't change that for the world.

A cry sends a crack through the air and Pippa and I fly apart. Her cheeks are thoroughly flush and I wonder if my own are even half as red. I hear Ann respond to the call, and her voice is a whip against my skin, a reminder that Pippa and I are not the only two souls in this world. "Over here!" Ann calls, and I want to scream or to make her disappear.

"Gemma is lost," Pippa whispers, and I suppose it was Gemma who let out the original cry. It's as if the kiss never took place as Pippa adds, "Ann, too."

"I don't care," I find myself saying without hesitation. It's entirely true, if only for now. "I want to stay here, with you."

A small smile appears on Pip's face, and soon she is absolutely radiant. "You could feel that way forever, you know. You could stay here with me." Her eager tone sends a chill down my spine, yet also has me reaching for her hands. They are cold in my own, but provide me comfort nonetheless. Our foreheads touch as she continues speaking, reviving our former intimacy. It is as if it was never forgotten. "You could stay with me forever. There is a way, no matter what anyone else says."

'Anyone else' refers to Gemma. Pippa's suggestion entices me, but not enough. "I can't leave…_my_ world…behind," I murmur, feeling that my phrasing is inappropriate, "but you do know that I want to stay here with you." Pippa sends me a pleading, albeit peevish, look. "You say there is a way, but how could there be any other alternative than worldly death?"

Pippa scoffs at my question before adopting our serious tone once more. "Oh, Fee. The realms are worldlier than the dining room at Spence or any ballroom in London or salon in Paris. You could stay, and we could be together forever. No dull teas or dances or suitors for you!" She pauses before adding, "And Gemma and Ann could still visit." Her gaze falls towards the pouch she's fashioned in her dress, where there is a fresh harvest of berries. Her gaze returns to me and she asks, "You see?"

I see, but I don't want to. "I love you, Pip, but…"

My words temporarily pacify her, diffident or not. "Please, just promise me that you will think about it," she says. "That is the least that you could do for me."

I close my eyes, not quite ready to bind my fate. "I promise you," I say, and the words hang before us like a doctrine or a treaty.

A snapping noise sends us flying apart and we fake smiles at the site of Gemma, just one of the barriers between us. Excuses and lies pour out of Pippa and me like water from a flooded stream. Gemma isn't keen to believe us, despite our attempts at demonstrating that we are only speaking of curtsying for the queen.

When Gemma storms off, Pippa is the first to speak. "Promise?" she reminds me, sadness in her voice.

"Always." Our hands join once more as we exit the maze quite effortlessly, melancholy smiles on our faces.

But how long shall our always last?


End file.
